Portable roof truss and joist assembling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable roof truss and floor joist fabricating apparatus which is a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;jig-like&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; fabricating table on which is positioned a plurality of bracket plates for retaining the frame members in an assembled condition for fastening. The fabricating table comprises an elongated lower chord support beam as one side of the fabricating table and contains on one side thereof a plurality of mounting points to which are held a plurality of outwardly extending extension beams. On each extension beam and the lower chord support beam are mounted at least one detachable bracket plate with blocking brackets attached thereto for properly positioning each frame member. The members are fastened with toothed nailing plates or more preferably truss nails fastened through truss plates positioned on opposites sides of the frame members at the joint. In a preferred embodiment the frame members are secured by nails clinched with a ribbed clinching plate.

United States Patent 1 1 I Stanley [451 Aug. 14, 1973 PORTABLE ROOF muss AND JOIST ASSEMBLING APPARATUS James M. Stanley, Vicksburg, Miss.

Multl-Systems, Inc., Vicksburg, Miss.

Filed: May 19, 1971 Appl. No.: 144,794

Inventor:

Assignee:

US. Cl 269/321 F, 144/288 C Int. Cl B233 3/10, B25h 5/00, B27f 7/02 Field of Search 144/288 C; 227/77,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hutchens 100/100 McKinley 227/152 X McGlinchey.. 100/100 UX Sanford 100/100 Primary Examiner-James L. Jones, Jr.

vAssistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney-Ernest B. Lipscomb [5 7] ABSTRACT A portable roof truss and floor joist fabricating apparatus which is a jig-like fabricating table on which is positioned a plurality of bracket plates for retaining the frame members in an assembled condition for fastening. The fabricating table comprises an elongated lower chord support beam as one side of the fabricating table and contains on one side thereof a plurality of mounting points to which are held a plurality of outwardly extending extension beams. On each extension beam and the lower chord support beam are mounted at least one detachable bracket plate with blocking brackets attached thereto for properly positioning each frame -member. The members are fastened with toothed nailing plates or more preferably truss nails fastened through truss plates positioned on opposites sides of the frame members at the joint. In a preferred embodiment the frame members are secured by nails clinched with a ribbed clinching plate.

3 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDM 14 ms INVENTOR JAMES M. STANLEY ATTORNEY PAniNIEmumms 3752467 SHEET 2 OF 4 'PATENTEDAUB 14 1915 3. 752.467

sum 3 or 4 FIG. IO

FIG. 7

PORTABLE ROOF TRUSS AND JOIST ASSEMBLING APPARATUS This invention relates to roof trusses and floor joists. More particularly, this invention relates to a portable apparatus for assemblying wooden roof trusses and floor joists.

Since numerous wooden foof trusses and floor joists are used in the manufacture of many buildings and since labor in the building industry is scarce and expensive, it has become essential to cut the high cost of labor and materials. Therefore a definite trend toward fabricating building sections using factory productiontype techniques has developed. Building of roof trusses and floor joists by small dealers, such as lumber yards has met with only limited success because of the non-availability of satisfactory low cost equipment, the inability to easily vary truss and joist dimensions whenever needed, necessity for use of skilled labor and transportation problems and costs of moving the prefabricated trusses and joists to the job site. Further, factory prefabricated trusses and joists are sometimes damaged and tend to become wobbly through constant bumping while being transported to the job site.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide an apparatus for fabricating roof trusses and floor joists. Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for fabrication of roof trusses and floor joists simply and quickly at the job site with any design variation or material specification. Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel apparatus for fabricating roof trusses and floor joists which is readily portable so as to be quickly moved from job site to job site in a simple and easy manner.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a fabricating apparatus that requires only the need of unskilled labor, and permits the production of roof trusses and floor joists at a rapid, low-cost rate with a high degree of accuracy.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a truss and oistfo'rming table, for rigidly supporting wood member, which is simple and lightweight in construction and which is readily adjustable so as to permit'the fabrication of a wide variety of types and size of frames.

The objects of this invention also contemplate the utilization of means of fastening truss or joist members together with nail plates wherein the nails are clinched with a ribbed clinch plate. v

Other objects, features and advantages of thisiinvention will become apparent'from'the following descripproper location on the lower chord support beam. The convenient accessof the fabricating table enables manual nailing toibe done but preferably automatic nailers are used. Although the apparatus is sufficiently versatile to enable fastening of the frame memberswith toothed truss plates using portable hydraulic-means, the preferred embodiment utilizes conventional nailing plates with truss nails clinchedusing the blocking plate as an anvil or a ribbed clinchplate.

The invention may best be; understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the portable roof truss fabricating apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side' view of a portion of the roof truss forming apparatus of FIG. 1; H

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of a chord blocking bracket;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of a truss peak blocking bracket;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the roof truss fabricating apparatus of this invention J showing fabrication of a Fink truss;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of FIG. 2; I

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing an alternative means for mounting extension plates, taken along line v7 -7 of FIG. 2; Y

FIG. 8.is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of I a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the blocking plate; I

FIG 9'is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of FIG. 8 showing the clinching system; a i v FIG. 10 is a top plan view ofv the ribbed clinch plate; FIG. 11 is a side view of the ribbed clinch plateand nailing plates in position; 2,, I f v I FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to-FIGS. 6 and 7 showing yet another alternative means for mounting extension plates; 7 g l FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative em bodiment of the lower support beam taken along line tion taken in connection with the accompanying draw 1 ings. In general, the objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a jig-like table which comprises a lower chord support beam having a plurality of mounting points at one side thereof adjustablyattached to which are a series of outwardly extending extension beams with both the lower chord support beam and the extension beams having upper surfaces on which are provided blocking plates with bracket for properly positioing the frame members in an assembled condition with joints read for fastening with nail plates. The fabricating table is supportedin part by wheel means, which are used to easily transport the apparatus to the job site. Depending upon the particular design and size of 1313 of FIG. 14; and v j FIG. 14 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the fabricating apparatus of this invention especially adapted for forming floor joists. Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIG. I a preferred'embodimentof the apparatus of this invention which includes: a fabricating table designated generally by the letter T. The fabricating table in this embodiment includeslower chord support beam 11 which may be a single l-beam or comparable arrangement, such as the'braced U-beams lla shown in FIG. 13. To one side of beam are detachably mounted a plurality of extension beams 12 arranged in spaced parallel relationship extendingoutwardly from beam 11. The length of the extension beams is optional but they are, of course, long enough to accommodate the largest size roof truss contemplated. The extension beams are detachably mounted at mounting points 21 at whatever location is required I by the truss or joist specification, as shown more clearly the roof truss or floor joist specified, the extension beams are attached at the mounting points'atthe in FIG. 2. The extension beams may be mounted by a variety of means, several of the preferred means being shown in FIGS. 6,7 and 12 which show mountingmeans that 'lend rigidity to the fabricating table. .Thelower chord support beam and extension beams of fab-.

ricating table T are thus arranged to provide a substantially flat structure having an upper surface 27.

In the preferred embodiment, wheel means are provided for supporting fabricating table T and permit movement of table T to aselected location for use. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fabricating table T is supported on brace and springs 26 which is provided with wheels 29 mounted on axle 30 in a conventional manner. In order to permit fabricating table T to be easily moved to a selected location, a hitch 28 is secured to lower chord support beam 11 at one end of fabricating table T for connection in a conventional manner to a truck or the like. When placed on the job site the fabricating table T is positioned so the upper surface 27 is in a substantially horizontal position. This is accomplished by leg 22 mounted to the under side of lower chord support beam 1 1. The leg 22, if desired, may be hingeably mounted so as to be secured in a position parallel to support beam 11 while being transported to the selected job site. Further, the leg may be vertically adjustable with, for example, a ball hinge secured to the foot for easy horizontal positioning, especially where the ground isunlevel.

The outwardly extending extension beams 12 are conventional I-type beams or specially constructed beams having a wider upper surface than conventional beams to provide more support and apaptability of design for support chords 17 and 19. Generally, the number of extension beams 12 used depends upon the truss or joist design, as support is needed under each nailing location. The usual truss design requires three extension beams. The extension beam supporting the peak chord joint is obviously somewhat longer than the others but the length of each extension beam is determined by its position on the lower chord support beam 11. The location of each extension beam 12 depends upon the size and design of the roof truss or floor joist. When the desired truss or joist pattern is selected, the extension beams 12 are releasably located at the proper mounting points 21 at any number of positions along lower support beam 11, as shown in FIG. 2. Support beam 11 contains numerous mounting points or locations to enable greater flexibility of design and style of the frame desired. The attachment of extension beams 12 to support beam 11 is accomplished in a variety of means but illustrations of several preferred means are shown in FIGS. 6,7 and 12. In FIG. 6 holding beam 31 having a plurality of mounting points 21 therein is a part of support beam 11 and may, for instance, be welded 34 thereto. Extension beam 12 having backing plate 36 with pegs 32 attached thereto is releasably retained in support beam 11 by inserting pegs 32 through mounting points 21. The extension beam 11 is locked firmly in place with set screws 35.

In FIG. 7, a preferred embodiment, holding beam 134 is secured to one side of support beam 11 such as by welding, and is taken as a view along line 7-7 in FIG. 1. Holding beam 131 contains a plurality of mounting holes for attaching extension beams 12. Backing plate 136 is welded to extension beam 12. Roller bearing 140 has plate 141 securely attached thereto and is fitted through mounting holes 21. Plate 141 is attached to backing plate 136 by nuts and bolts 142. The extension beam may be locked securely in place with set screws 135. Roller bearing 40 serves to give added balance to the extension beam. It may also be desirable to attach an adjustable leg similar to leg 22 shown in FIG. 1 near the .outer end of extension beam 12 to more easily place thefabricating table in a level position. i I

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown still another preferred easily detachable mounting means. Lower chord support beam 11 has upper surface plate 156 securely mounted thereto with flange plate 157 secured, such as with welds 155 outwardly extending from the under surface of plate 156. Extension beam 12 has an extended upper surface 27 extending past backing plate 136 and holding bracket 152 mounted to backing plate 136 so as to form a slot for flange plate 157 to fit into. Extension beam 12 is held in place when set screw 153 is tightened. Upper surface 27 is leveled with adjustable leg 122 aided by tensioning system shown as tension bar 150 and turn buckle 151.

Bracket plates 13 are provided on the upper surface 27 of the Fabricating table T for properly positioning the structural members of the truss or joist in an assembled condition with joints ready for clinching. The bracket plate also may serve as a clinching anvil if the preferred ribbed clinch plate is not used. In the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus of the invention is arranged for fabrication of the frame member of a roof truss, whose members are designated generally in FIG. 2 by the letter F. The roof truss frame F includes a longitudinally extending lower chord member 16, at least two side chord members 17, and a plurality of transversely extending support chord members 19 which when place in the locating bracket of the bracket plate are in an assembled position for nailing.

As shown clearly in FIGS. 3,4 and 13, bracket plate 13, which may be constructed of metal or plywood, are attached to the support beam and extension beams with C-clamps 20 or a C-cIamp-type arrangement such as 200 shown in FIG. 13 at the position determined by the truss or joist specifications. Fixed to bracket plates 13 are blocking brackets 14 as shown best in FIG. 3 as typical of support chords and peak bracket 23 shown best in FIG. 4. The blocking bracket is made to be interchangeable to provide for differing angles of the support chords 19 and a variety of angles. The brackets hold the truss and joist members in assembled position for fastening through nail plates 18. Additional positioning means on support beam 11 include pairs of upstanding bracket 15 or 15a arranged in uniformly spaced relationship on the upper surface 27 of the support beam.

An alternative embodiment of the lower chord supportbeam and extension beams and blocking bracket is shown in FIG. 13. The beam is formed by securing upper surface plate 156a to U-beams or Channel beams 11a. These beams are rigidly held by upper surface plate 156a and a plurality of braces 159. These beams are use for both the lower chord support beam and the extension beams. Bracket plate is mounted to supper surface plate 156a by C-bracket 20a and held in place with set screws 153a. An alternative means of mounting one side of upstanding brackets 15 is shown as wherein a bracket is mounted to the side of and through beam 11 or beam 110 and extends upward above upper surface 27.

In FIG. 5 is shown an alternative embodiment of this invention. Instead of a single beam support 11, fabricating table T,comprises a substantially rectangular frame and includes longitudinally extending frame members 111 and 113 arranged in spaced parallel relationship and transversely extending side members 114 and 115 defining the frame. Transversely extending extension beams 112 are detachably mounted to frame member 111 as shown in FIGS. 6,7 and 12. Extension beams 112 may also be attached to frame member 113, if desired, for more rigidity. Fabricating table T is mounted to a support bed which is provided with wheels 129 on axles 130 and 131 in a conventional manner. A hitch 128 is secured to frame member 114 or 115 for connection to a truck or the like. The truss frame shown in FIG. 5 illustrates the versatility of the fabricating table by showing a different type of truss, known as a Fink truss. This embodiment is also particularly suitable for flat roof trusses and floor joists. This embodiment of the apparatus of this invention is also intended to be used in conjunction with a wall framing jig such as that shown in my US. Pat. No. 3,629,931 which issed Dec. 28, 1971.

Referring now to FIG. 8 of the drawings, there is shown a fragmentary perspective view showing how truss members 16 and 17 would be located in brackets 14 for example. That is, lower chord member 16 is placed in brackets 14 and longitudinally along beam 11 or beam 11a while chord member 17 or 19 is placed along extension beam 12 and held in assembling position by bracket 14. Conventionally nailingplates 18 are placed on either side of the joints. The lower nail plate usually has a cardboard backing allowing the nail a soft area in which to curl using blocking plate 13 as an anvil. The preferred clinching method, however, is shown inbreakway view, FIG. 9 and fragmentary side view FIG. 11 in which ribbed clinch plate C rests on blocking plate 13 between the blocking brackets 14 and under the joint made by the frame members. Clinch nails are driven through nailing plate 18 and the frame members and caused to bend in a reverse direction 'when striking either blocking plate 13 or ribbed clinch plate C as shown in FIG. 11. When using the ribbed clinch plate a cardboard backed nailingplate is not needed.

In FIG. 10 there is shown a top plan view of ribbed clinch plate C which is typically made of harden steel. The depth, width and conture of groove 52 varies'according to the length of clinch nail 53 and the amount of power applied if an automatic nailer is used. A typical ribbed clinch plate may be constructed of 0/0 steel and is in one form no wider than the space between the blocking brackets-14 which is typically about 4 inches wide. The ribs 51 may be, for example, one-half inch apart with groove 52 approximately one-fourth inch deep. The ribbed clinch plate may be used in place of blocking plate 13 and according would having blocking brackets 14 mounts directly to the ribbed clinch plate C.

. FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of this invention particularly suited for fabricating either flat roof trusses or floor joists. In essence, the fabricating table T is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 with a lower chord support beam 11 or a shown 11a. The fabricating table is supported-of axle-a and wheels 29a. Support beam 11a is also provided'with hitch 28a. Blocking plate 13a are mounted on support beam 11a and extension beams 12a in a manner similar to FIGS. 1 and 5'. As stated earlier, thenumber of extension beams will depend on the truss or joist design as each frame member 16a and 19a need support.

moved into a convenient working site, preferably on alevel surface and usingadjustable leg 22, or legs as the.

case may be, is psoitioned with upper surface 27' substantially horizontal. If extension beams l2have. not been located at the proper mountingpoints 21 before moving to the job site, they should be properly mounted on'the desired locations according to the'type and size truss or joist to be fabricated. Likewise, blocking plates 13or 13a are clamped in the proper position.

For assembling trusses of the type shown in FIG. 1*

the center extension beam 12 is placed substantially at the center of wherethe truss is to be assembled, and securely mounted to lower chord support beam 11 or 1 la at the proper mounting point 21 and secured in a manner shown in FIGS. 6,7, or 12. In a similar manner the other extension beams 12 are accurately located along the lower support beam at the juncture of the frame members and secured in place.

With the apparatus thus arranged, it is particularly useful for easily producing a large number of roof trusses or floor joists of the same size or varying sizes in a short time. The assembling operation is made efficient by precutting the, truss and joist members andhaving them stacked around the fabricating table in convenient'assembly line-like positions. By varying the number ,of extension beams any size or variation of truss or joist may be manufactured on the job site, thereby eliminating transportation damage and the hecessity of joining unusually large trusses and joists in two or more. separate sections. Clinch plates C are placed within brackets 14 or have brackets 14 mounted directly to the ribbed clin ch' plate. A lower nailing plate 18 is placed on the ribbed clinch plate as shown in FIG. 11 or on bracket plate'l3. if it is used as an anvil. In the later case the nailing plate should be backed with cardboard. Lower chord frame member is placed along support beam 11 in brackets Hand 15. Side chord members 17 and support chord member 19 are likewise placed in brackets 14 in assembled position. Upper nailing plate'18 is place over the intersection of the chord member joint. The joints may be fastened manually but it is faster to use an automatic nailinggun connected to an associated source of fluid.

or air pressure and full headed nailsvUpon passing through lower nail plate 18 and striking bracket plate 13 or ribbed clinch plate C, the nail 53 is caused to bendin a. reversed direction clinching the nail and securing the lower nail plate to the frame member. When nailing of the joints is complete, frame F is easily removed from the fabricating table and the operation repeatedto'form similar trusses or joists or. adjustments may be may for forming a different size and/or type truss or joist. The table may becompletely readjusted for a different size in a matter of just a few minutes. 3

It can be seen that there has been provided with the truss and joist fabricatingapparatus of thisinventiona means for high speed production of prefabricated roof trusses and floor joists in a wide variety of types and sizes. The apparatusof this invention is extremely sim- 1 ple in nature, versatile and inexpensive. As a result'of its portability, it may be quickly and easily moved from job site to job site thus eliminating the transportation costs common to factory orlumber yard prefabricated roof trusses or floor joists. Also, the simplicity of the apparatus allows the carpenter to operate close to the nailing points and thus allows easy manipulation of a nailing gun. Furthermore, operation requires the use of only relatively unskilled labor. The use of the ribbed clinch plate or the anvil plate allows for securing both sides of the truss frame with nailing plates in one operation and upon completion the frame is removed from the fabricating table with a minimum of effort.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it is obvious that many structural details may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

l. A portable apparatus for fabricating wooden roof trusses or floor joists comprising in combination, an elongated support beam having a plurality of mounting points on at least one side thereof for'positioning a plurality of extension beams thereon, a plurality of extension beams mounted to said mounting points and extending outwardly from said support beam, means for rigidly securing and detaching said extension beams to said support beam to form a fabricating table, detachably mounted blocking means on the upper surface of said fabricating table for positioning frame members of a truss or joist in an assembled condition with joints for fastening, and wheel means for supporting said fabricating table and to permit movement of said fabricating table to a selected location.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes an anvil plate and brackets for positioning said frame members in an assembled condition.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said anvil plate is a ribbed clinch plate. 

1. A portable apparatus for fabricating wooden roof trusses or floor joists comprising in combination, an elongated support beam having a plurality of mounting points on at least one side thereof for positioning a plurality of extension beams thereon, a plurality of extension beams mounted to said mounting points and extending outwardly from said support beam, means for rigidly securing and detaching said extension beams to said support beam to form a fabricating table, detachably mounted blocking means on the upper surface of said fabricating table for positioning frame members of a truss or joist in an assembled condition with joints for fastening, and wheel means for supporting said fabricating table and to pErmit movement of said fabricating table to a selected location.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes an anvil plate and brackets for positioning said frame members in an assembled condition.
 3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said anvil plate is a ribbed clinch plate. 